Harris County Bench

As a litigator, you spare no time or expense to ensure you are at peak readiness when the trial rolls around. You know you must do your homework to win cases -- thoroughly research the legal issues, draft pleadings, conduct pretrial discovery, prepare witnesses. So don't let all your hard work go to waste by forgetting the most important player in the courtroom -- the judge. That's where the Texas Bench Book Series comes in. The bench books are the only place you'll find the judge's courtroom preferences -- in his or her own words. Each judge provides insight into trial scheduling, motion practice, pretrial and trial procedures, decorum, pet peeves, staff names and numbers, and much more. Trial lawyers on both sides of the aisle agree that the best way to prepare for the courtroom is to research your judge through the Texas Bench Book Series. This book contains procedures and forms for local, state and federal courts in Harris County with contributions from Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Jefferson, Liberty and Montgomery counties. This Bench Book is a joint project of Texas Lawyer, the Houston Young Lawyers Association and the Houston Bar Association. Also see our Bench Book for Dallas County.

As a litigator, you spare no time or expense to ensure you are at peak readiness when the trial rolls around. You know you must do your homework to win cases -- thoroughly research the legal issues, draft pleadings, conduct pretrial discovery, prepare witnesses. So don't let all your hard work go to waste by forgetting the most important player in the courtroom -- the judge. That's where the Texas Bench Book Series comes in. The bench books are the only place you'll find the judge's courtroom preferences -- in his or her own words. Each judge provides insight into trial scheduling, motion practice, pretrial and trial procedures, decorum, pet peeves, staff names and numbers, and much more.

“Tough Cases stands out as a genuine revelation. . . . Our most distinguished judges should follow the lead of this groundbreaking volume.” —Justin Driver, The Washington Post A rare and illuminating view of how judges decide dramatic legal cases—Law and Order from behind the bench—including the Elián González, Terri Schiavo, and Scooter Libby cases Prosecutors and defense attorneys have it easy—all they have to do is to present the evidence and make arguments. It's the judges who have the heavy lift: they are the ones who have to make the ultimate decisions, many of which have profound consequences on the lives of the people standing in front of them. In Tough Cases, judges from different kinds of courts in different parts of the country write about the case that proved most difficult for them to decide. Some of these cases received international attention: the Elián González case in which Judge Jennifer Bailey had to decide whether to return a seven-year-old boy to his father in Cuba after his mother drowned trying to bring the child to the United States, or the Terri Schiavo case in which Judge George Greer had to decide whether to withdraw life support from a woman in a vegetative state over the wishes of her parents, or the Scooter Libby case about appropriate consequences for revealing the name of a CIA agent. Others are less well-known but equally fascinating: a judge on a Native American court trying to balance U.S. law with tribal law, a young Korean American former defense attorney struggling to adapt to her new responsibilities on the other side of the bench, and the difficult decisions faced by a judge tasked with assessing the mental health of a woman who has killed her own children. Relatively few judges have publicly shared the thought processes behind their decision making. Tough Cases makes for fascinating reading for everyone from armchair attorneys and fans of Law and Order to those actively involved in the legal profession who want insight into the people judging their work.

The Directory of Federal Court Guidelines outlines the requirements of over 600 federal judges in detailed form along with the procedures they mandate on such essential matters as discovery, scheduling conferences, alternative dispute resolution, voir dire, marking of exhibits, and jury participation. This is critical inside information directly from the federal courts and judges compiled and published in cooperation with the American Bar Association's Section of Litigation. You will get every sitting judge's educational background, previous experience on the bench, with the government and in private practice, and honors and awards. Many judges have provided photographs and the names and telephone numbers of their secretaries and court clerks as well. Updated three times a year, Directory of Federal Court Guidelines will prove to be a vital research tool for preparing your case.